Resilient Northern Australian Communities: Navigating Disaster Recovery in the East Pilbara
Tracks
Concurrent Room 4
| Thursday, August 6, 2026 |
| 1:35 PM - 1:55 PM |
| Concurrent Room 4 |
Overview
Steven Harding, Shire of East Pilbara
Details
1. The Tranche Model: A framework for prioritising critical infrastructure to unlock phased funding and to protect local government solvency during natural disasters.
2. The Case for Betterment: Highlighting the systemic failure of "like-for-like" funding and the urgent economic necessity of rebuilding for climate resilience to break the cycle of repetitive damage.
3. Collaborative advocacy: Lessons in building a unified front for advocacy, bridging the disconnect between remote realities and metropolitan-administered policy.
Speaker
Mr Steven Harding
Chief Executive Officer
Shire Of East Pilbara
Resilient Northern Australian communities: Navigating disaster recovery in the East Pilbara
Presentation Overview
The Shire of East Pilbara is the engine room of the Australian economy, with a Gross Regional Product of $29.81 Billion in a region that supplies 38% of the world’s iron ore. Yet, following Cyclone Zelia in 2025, the Shire faced an existential threat: $60 million in road damage and a seven-month funding deadlock that isolated remote Aboriginal communities and severed supply chains.
This presentation dissects the Northern Australian reality of infrastructure recovery versus the metropolitan rigidity of current Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). We move beyond the challenges of this process to offer a strategic blueprint for northern infrastructure recovery, illustrating why the current funding model and assessment process fails in an era of intensifying climate shocks.
Grounded in the recommendations of the 2024 Colvin Review, this session provides a case study on the complex relationship between local, state and federal government in disaster recovery.
We will explore:
• The Tranche Model: How the Shire pioneered a staged recovery approach to break a funding stalemate and manage cash-flow risks for local government
• Like-for-like vs Betterment: Why rebuilding to a higher standard is an economic necessity for vulnerable sections of the road network
• Social equity in infrastructure: Redefining remote road connectivity as a social determinant of health and wellbeing.
• Working in partnership: How the Shire worked in partnership with affected Aboriginal communities to advocate at a state and federal level.
This is not just a story of a cyclone; it is a case study for a national conversation on building a more equitable, flexible, and robust disaster recovery framework. This presentation will be a constructive exploration of how Australia’s largest Shire transformed systemic failure into an opportunity for national disaster funding reform.
This presentation dissects the Northern Australian reality of infrastructure recovery versus the metropolitan rigidity of current Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). We move beyond the challenges of this process to offer a strategic blueprint for northern infrastructure recovery, illustrating why the current funding model and assessment process fails in an era of intensifying climate shocks.
Grounded in the recommendations of the 2024 Colvin Review, this session provides a case study on the complex relationship between local, state and federal government in disaster recovery.
We will explore:
• The Tranche Model: How the Shire pioneered a staged recovery approach to break a funding stalemate and manage cash-flow risks for local government
• Like-for-like vs Betterment: Why rebuilding to a higher standard is an economic necessity for vulnerable sections of the road network
• Social equity in infrastructure: Redefining remote road connectivity as a social determinant of health and wellbeing.
• Working in partnership: How the Shire worked in partnership with affected Aboriginal communities to advocate at a state and federal level.
This is not just a story of a cyclone; it is a case study for a national conversation on building a more equitable, flexible, and robust disaster recovery framework. This presentation will be a constructive exploration of how Australia’s largest Shire transformed systemic failure into an opportunity for national disaster funding reform.
Biography
Steven Harding is the CEO of the Shire of East Pilbara, Australia’s largest local government area covering a geographical area larger than Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT combined. An engineer with an MBA and legal qualifications, Steven’s career spans private practice and public service, including key infrastructure roles in Victoria, NSW, and WA.
Previous leadership roles include Director Infrastructure Services at the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale and Director Infrastructure at the Shire of Broome.
